Dwarf Fortress is a rogue-like game that focuses on the establishment and long-term maintaining of a dwarven settlement. Everything is rendered in ASCII, although there are "tilesets" that render everything differently.

Dwarf Fortress started development in 2001, and no public release was made until 2006.

Originally the game was simply 2D (meaning, there were no z levels. You could not go up or down). There was no variety in the maps. On the left, there is a grassland, and on the right side, there is a mountain, further in a cave river, chasm, magma and then adamantine/the Pits.

Then, the 3D version was released, with the major addition of Z levels, and mechanics. This expanded gameplay tremendously, but made underground rivers, magma, and creatures etc unique to their landscape. To clarify, this is not in a 3D view, but adds 3D features. Whereas in the 2D version you could go left and right, x and y axis, the 3D version adds up/down, the z-axis. Once more, THIS IS FROM THE SAME VIEW AS THE 2D VERSION, TOP-DOWN.

The latest 2D version is here
Note: 2D version is no longer updated and lacks many of the features you may be used to in the 3D version.

The most stunning feature of Dwarf Fortress is that it creates a randomly generated, persistent world for you to play in. (The world is only "on" when you are actually playing in it, however.) When you die in either the adventure or fortress modes, your next game will be in the same world, albeit a few days later. You can visit your old fortress, or get revenge on the monster that killed your adventurer. If your fortress or your adventurer had done anything of particular note, there's a chance that the game will generate a legend for them, which you can read about in the legends section. (Provided you've discovered enough information about the legend)

Dwarf Fortress has three major game modes and a fourth non-game mode:

* Dwarf Fortress Mode: In this mode you manage a number of dwarves whose task is to create a fortress.
* Reclaim Fortress: Once you have created and abandoned/lost a fortress, you can take a band of military dwarves to fight the monsters that now inhabit it. If you succeed, the fortress is yours to play in once more, just like the standard dwarf fortress mode.
* Adventure Mode: In this mode you explore the world in a fashion similar to Rogue, Nethack, or Angband, completing quests and killing monsters. In adventure mode you can uncover details about your world's legends.
* Legends: In the fourth mode you can read more about the legends of your world, provided you've discovered them through adventuring.

* The world is randomly generated with distinct civilizations spanning over 1000 years of history, dozens of towns, hundreds of caves and regions with various wildlife.
* The world persists as long as you like, over many games, recording historical events and tracking changes.
* Command your dwarves as they search for wealth in the mountain.
* Craft treasures and furniture from many materials and improve these objects with precious metals, jewels and more.
* Defend yourself against attacks from hostile civilizations, the wilderness and the depths.
* Support the nobility as they make demands of your populace.
* Keep your dwarves happy and read their thoughts as they work and relax.
* Z coordinate allows you to dig out fortresses with multiple levels. Build towers or conquer the depths.
* Build floodgates to divert water for farming or to drown your adversaries.
* Much much more...
* Play an adventurer and explore, quest for glory or seek vengeance.
* Meet adversaries from previous games.
* Recruit people in towns to come with you on your journey.
* Explore without cumbersome plot restrictions.
* Seamlessly wander the world -- 197376 x 197376 squares total -- or travel more rapidly on the region map.
* Accept quests from the town and civilization leaders.
* Retire and meet your old characters. Bring them along on an adventure with a new character or reactivate them and play directly.
* Z coordinate allows you to move seamlessly between dungeon levels and scale structures fighting adversaries above and below.
* The combat model uses skills, body parts, wrestling, charging and dodging between squares, bleeding, pain, nausea, and much more.
* A dynamic weather model tracks wind, humidity and air masses to create fronts, clouds, rain storms and blizzards.
* Over two hundred rock and mineral types are incorporated into the world, placed in their proper geological environments.
* Add new creatures, weapons, plants, metals and other objects via modifiable text files.
* Extended ASCII character set rendered in 16 colors (including black) as well as 8 background colors (including black).

Due the the very easy editing of the raws, (simple text files that make up a lot of the game) many mods have been created that can range from full conversions of races, creatures and items to a simple additional stone type.

Stallion's Dig Deeper Mod

Stallion's Mod adds only what is needed to keep the original Dwarf Fortress feel to the game, while extending it.... Digging Deeper!

70+ new animals.
A new civilisation.
50+ new craftable trade items.
10 new metals.
A new gem.
8 new wood/tree times.
15 new plants (with associated extracts and drink).
6 new weapons.
6 new pieces of armour.
14 new sets of speech for adventure mode.
53 new engravings.
And numerous changes!

New races to play!
- Dark elves, evil tower-dwelling brethren of the treehuggers.
- Dark outcasts, corrupted and mutated, these "dark spider elves" are more than a nuisanse.
- Kentauri, the quintessense of duty and justice. Almost as nature-loving as the elves, these horseback/elf-fronts don't pose much of a threat. Beware their leader though.
- Tigermen, a low-intelligence race akin to kobolds.
- Major original races are also playable.

New creatures:
- Feral outcasts, uncivilised version of dark outcasts.
- Black Dragon, the dark poisonous brother of the firebreather.
- Copper golems, just because iron is too hard to dent.
- Rock golems, to provide your fort with statues for the next five years.
- Warped rock golems, to slice things up while you're at it.
- Shard golems, cheap and cheerful adventurer-dicers.
- Shard elementals, if you think walking golems weren't enough.
- Silver golems, much nastier than their soft nature would suggest.
- Golden golems, as if there weren't enough constructs already.
- Adamantine golems. Just run.
- Large demon rat. Not your usual vermin.
- Giant demon rat. Definetly not your usual vermin.
- Divine being. Flying, firebreathing, superspeed, wields magical weapons and flame. Also god(dess) of the kentauri.
- Panther. Just thought it was missing.
- Made several changes to existing creatures, as mentioned at the top of the listing

Finally, New engraving images!
- I won't list them. Look for yourself or be surprised.

Unintelligent's Random Crap Mod

2 New Races

Monoliths

Once the servants of a forgotten civilization, these massive golem-like creatures now serve the Goblins who have discovered them, who value the Monoliths for their unerring loyalty and ability to work tirelessly for ages without the need for food or rest. While they have no weapons of their own, they are deadly in unarmed combat.

-Evil
-Sieges
-Do not require sleep, food, or drink
-Very difficult to defend against
-Cannot harvest their own wood
-Playable in Fortress and Adventure mode

Luftoden

These unholy inhabitants of the frozen forests of the Taiga are quite fearsome to behold. Their desire for death and mayhem surpasses even that of the Goblins, who have formed an uneasy alliance with them. They appear to be a species of Demon; though they are fortunately much weaker than their belowground cousins, compared to the other major races, their strength in combat is second only to the Monoliths.

-Evil
-Sieges, babysnatches
-Can fly
-Playable in Adventure mode only

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New Creatures

14 new non-entity creatures, including:

Riptides

These bizarre manta ray-like creatures float like a butterfly and sting like a cruise missile. They glide just above the ground at ludicrous speeds, leaving a trail of firey destruction in their wake. They fly over traps and can wipe out an army of untrained soldiers faster than you can say "OH SHI-". Although even a simple trench can keep them at bay, if you manage to defeat them, their hearts can be smelted into a metal stronger than steel.

Fell Dragons

While they may be smaller than a normal dragon and have weaker breath, these monstrosities are by no means less dangerous. They fly over walls and have venom in their fangs that makes their prey easier to devour. The only thing more dangerous than a Fell Dragon is a Skeletal Fell Dragon, so beware of evil regions.

Phantoms

These deadly spirits haunt the tainted lands where the undead roam and only the brave and the foolhardy dare to dread. They blend in with the dark landscape and are almost impossible to see before they strike. Once they attack, however, they often become easier to see, although that does not make them any less dangerous.

Check the creature_mod file for specifics on the rest of the new creatures. Or you could just play the game and let it surprise you.

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Other Features

Bronze and Iron

After someone pointed out that Bronze should be stronger than iron in the suggestion forum, I mucked around with the entries for Bronze and Iron a bit. (Shortly afterwards, I noticed someone already made a mod that does this, and much better than I did.)

Uranium

I don't know if something like this has been done before, but whatever. Pitchblende can now be smelted into Uranium. I also made it slightly more available; it's no longer granite-exclusive, though I'll probably change that later after I do more research.

-Once smelted, Uranium can be "enriched" at a smelter; this makes several bars of "depleted uranium," but only a small chance of producing "enriched uranium."
-Depleted uranium can be used for bolts only (at the moment) and is stronger than steel
-Enriched uranium has no purpose (yet), and cannot be used to create anything, although the bars are (currently) more valuable than Adamant

This project is about having a helper utility for dwarf fortress, hopefully filling gaps in the user interface. It will also allow some cool cheating, so that it would be possible to play with the engine. For example, you can now mark your nobles as butcherable! Ain't that cool?

Requires the latest version of Python and Gtk+/Win32 Runtime Environment.

Dwarf Therapist is an extension application for the fantastic game Dwarf Fortress. DF is a great game. And it's fun to manage dwarves with keyboard menus until about the 50th one shows up. If you're starting to get overwhelmed you need therapist in your life.

taken from the link.
it doesn't really give a nice clear answer what it does.

I have begun the great canal project, that is, re routing a river to run underneath a large plaza type are I built so I can build a well there and have unlimited fresh flowing water without having to leave the safety of my fort.

Funny I've never really lost a game of dwarf fortress. I usually just get swamped with tons of work to do i.e. organization stuffs. Mostly after the constant ambushes that seem to be getting more violent and costly every month. Oh great 4 swords men/farmer/miner/chefs die in battle now I have to re-configure my dwarfly work program. That usually means I have to take some unlucky suckers off of stone hauling duty (and further slow the completion of my giant towering Citadel) and give them weapons and toss them outside the fortress walls to die. I find the need to make giant structure's with rock solid defense, and all things needed to keep my dwarfs happy and alive a priority. To bad I get bored, and tiered of putting up with the random craziness that will happen "Hauling Stone" example "Manly dwarf has starved to death while stupidly trapping himself between the outside walls of the tower.

I love this game
Oh and a pro tip "Be a slave driver no breaks till the job gets done!"

I still have my enclosed-by-a-big-stone-wall fort but it's gotten to the point where the surface area enclosed by the wall is devoid of all life (and trees :( ) and covered in things like vomit and blood. Also, although my military are all super elite gods of war and can hold the one entrance into my fort, they are near constantly ambushed by squads of goblins who end up making large piles of blood and organs in front of my fort. I've pretty much stopped playing it because it's just SO DAMN MESSY.